Four grown kids, five delightful grandchildren, constant, long-time partner. A newly retired academic, I read, knit, run, garden, and more on a very small (Canadian) West Coast island. The other foot (pied à terre, indeed) is in the city, where I shop, visit museums and galleries, go to the opera. . .

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Monday, March 21, 2011

I love Paris in the Springtime!

Yesterday was a stunningly beautiful day in Paris -- we had enjoyed a glorious sleep-in, our first good sleep since arriving at Heathrow on Wednesday, facilitated by the quiet in our apartment, and so didn't get going 'til 10:30-ish, so the line-up was already snaking all the way up the plaza in front of the Pompidou Centre. Still, we persevered, knowing there was only one day left for the Mondrian/deStijl exhibit, and it was ever so well worth the wait. Fabulous exhibition! So many satisfying "clicks" in our understanding of 20th-century art were effected by strolling the cleverly curated rooms.

After we'd seen the exhibit, we grabbed the Metro up to Place du Clichy to meet our friend and her niece, joining the Sunday crowds around Abbesses. Jennifer, owner with her husband Phillippe, of the charming Hotel Résidence des Gobelins, knows more about Paris than most guidebook writers could ever imagine, and she shares her knowledge willingly. She pointed out favourite eating spots, took us in for a peek at the cinema snobs' favourite cinemas, nudged me toward some good fashion hunting, and provided Paris history as we joked, watched the crowds, and caught up on news since last year's visit. After she and her niece dropped us off at a recommended café-bar, we enjoyed the best frites we've had yet in Paris (I'll try to track down the card I grabbed and post it along with other recommended spots later). The owner was pleased that I told him so, but not surprised. Bien sûr, he said, "they were potatoes this morning""!

And when we walked home last night over the Pont Royal, the sky was clear and dark and the moon was shining hugely above and the Tour Eiffel was sparkling away to our right. 37 years, we'll be married this summer, and last night walking home still felt like a honeymoon. . . .

Today, more magic, as the temperatures were in the mid-teens, and the sun's warmth was coaxing buds to open all over the city. The forsythia in the two photos above was blooming on Blvd. Raspail, while the daffodills almost spilled out of their beds in the Jardins du Luxembourg. Workers were trimming the trees, a phenomenon we've never enjoyed seeing before, nor are likely to again. And all this joy before noon.

I've another post of photos for you from the day's wanderings: some wonderful stealth shots of fabulous women of our certain age, some marvellous windows, even a few what I wore. But we've been invited out for dinner in our old neighbourhood, the 13th . . . à la prochaine!

MOM! This all sounds fantastic. I can just imagine the size of the grin plastered on your face :) If you go to see another great exhibit - I would love it if you could pick me up a postcard please. B&A and Nola came and picked up R and I yesterday and we all went to brunch at Leona's. Granny did come after all. She was happy to see Nola. And yes, very proud to be turning 80! love you

Oh my god. What could be better? I will never know this particular joy you're feeling. I wonder what in my life will compensate. Not to make you worry, or in any way take away from your experience. It just sounds so perfect. I hope you all have many more wonderful days on your trip. And some that are just meh, because they make the good ones even better.

wow i didn't know you were touring europe! i would luv to visit paris one day! and see all the art exhibits and go to cafes and try good coffee and pastries. :)i can't wait to see some more pics and hear more on your adventures!

How beautiful it all sounds! I had to write some blurb about Paris for work the other day, and I was thinking about how much you must be enjoying yourselves. 37 years - that's some marriage. Wow. May it continue to be as happy and productive ...

Susan T: it helps to have got married rather young, and to have been v. lucky . . . Meg: So happy to hear from you, sweetie -- we'll happily pick up a postcard for you. I'm really pleased you all want to Granny's do and hung with the rellies for the afternoon in my absence.LPC: I understand your response completely and both Paul and I would point to compensations found on the other side. We've actually chatted a bit about posting on this. . . maybe one of these days.

Pseu: The forsythia yellow gave Paris an edge I hadn't seen before. Interesting.Nik: You'll have to get here one day soon -- we visit it regularly but are always discovering new wonders. See you at the opera next month!Hostess: your scarf will be roaming the Paris streets soon. I'll have to go check out your Paris post -- and I hope it won't be too long before you make your dream a reality.Lorrie: Glad you're enjoying the posts and the photos.Tiffany: It makes me feel soooo old, though, to say we've been married so long. I have to claim the child bride status!K: You would have such fun here! Terri: They'll be posted later today -- I think you'll enjoy them.

How can you leave us with such a promise...Too cruel.You two guys are just so pocket sized cute, I can just see you holding hands! Leyla caught Emin 'patting' my bum this morning he was WAY more embarrassed than she was, I laughed so much.That forsythia I loathe, such a crass colour, sorry but it is, thank god for the more classy blossom arriving as we speak. My absolute favourite quote is "they were potatoes this morning" I will post that on a card to that silly restaurant, and maybe they will learn something!Keep posting...

I'd love to hear your response to my post. Agree, disagree, even go off on a tangent, I love to know you're out there, readers. Let's chat, shall we? I apologize, though, for the temporary necessity of the Word Verification -- spam comments have been tiresomely numerous lately, and I'm hoping to break that pattern.

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Wisdom to live by and Other Clever Quotations

Events are not changeable at their climax, not through virtue and resolve, but only in their strictly ordinary, habitual course through reason and practice.Walter Benjamin, "The Author as Producer," Address delivered at the Institute for the Study of Fascism, Paris, on 27 April 1934

Coherence is born of random abundance. Kim Stafford in The Muses Among UsThe world is so full of a number of thingsI'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child's Garden of Verses

Bourgeois heroism: the acrobatics of being in so many places practically at once, and doing so many amazing things in one day, and then conversing over dinner with unflagging energy.

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